Blessings in Disguise
by Paleotoons
Summary: When Mordecai and Rigby return to the city from the out of state Community College, they're disappointed to find that their favorite Pizzeria has been shut down. However, maybe what they got instead will turn out to be even better.
1. Good Ol' Paparelli's

**How's it going, everybody? Something that's been bugging me and I'm sure a lot of other Regular Show fans is that we never really saw how Mordecai and Rigby met Margaret and Eileen. Based on several hints throughout the show and movie, this is the story I've come up with to help fill in the gaps in these four's history. Hope you enjoy!**

Ah, lunch time. There truly was no other time of the day quite like it. It was a brief period of luxury where you didn't have to worry about the stress of everyday life and work, just enjoy a much needed and well-earned meal in the middle of the day to momentarily take your mind off everything except satisfying your hunger. And for a certain pair of teens that just so happened to be a tall Blue Jay named Mordecai and a short Raccoon named Rigby, no other place for lunch was quite as good as a local pizzeria called Paparelli's.

It was near the end of the summer of their senior year in high school, so the boys had all the time of the day to slack off and hang out together. After getting expelled from West Anderson high school from blowing up the lab, Rigby had dropped out, and therefore didn't get to graduate. The only reason he gave Mordecai was because a lot was on his mind and he didn't feel like going back since he'd gotten kicked out anyway.

But Mordecai, the more responsible one of the duo, didn't want to just throw his life away like that. Even if he couldn't get into College University like he originally planned, he was still going to work hard and do what he could to make something of himself. After his expulsion ended, the Blue Jay went back to school and managed to graduate with good enough grades to be accepted to an out of state community college. While it wasn't what he originally wanted, he'd make do. And best of all, the college even said it was alright for Rigby to come and live with him, too, so it all worked out.

But right now, school was the last thing on the young Blue Jay's mind. He rode on his trusty skateboard alongside Rigby on his bike to Paparelli's to get some much needed grub after a long day of playing video games. "Ooooooooohhhhhhhh!" Mordecai exclaimed as he rolled to the entrance ahead of Rigby. "Beat ya, dude!"

"Pff, whatever, you're lucky I'm just tired!" the young Raccoon scoffed as he hit the brakes on his bike.

"Yeah right, you just can't accept that even on your bike me and Señior Sensei are still faster than you."

"STOP TALKING!"

The young slackers made their way into the pizzeria, the bell hanging above the door signaling their entry. This caught the restaurant owner, Gino's, attention as he looked to see the boys come into his shop. "Ayy, my two favorite worst-ah customers!" he greeted them in his thick Italian accent.

"Hey Gino!" Mordecai and Rigby greeted simultaneously.

"The usual?" the large store owner asked.

"Yeayuh!" the duo stated as Gino handed each of them a slice of pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. Mordecai and Rigby salivated and murmured in bliss as the savory tomato sauce and greasy cheese met their awaiting tastebuds.

"Ahhhhh, soooooo goooooooooooodddd…" Rigby mumbled in ecstasy as he continued munching on the triangle-shaped gift to mankind that he held in his hand.

"Man, your pizza's always the best, Gino!" Mordecai agreed as he started chomping down on the fluffy crust.

This made the greasy but kindly pizza chef beam with pride. "Thank you boys, I'm-ah glad that some-ah-body appreciates my food," he said as his face fell slightly.

This caught the more inquisitive avian's attention as he looked at his favorite restaurant owner with concern. "What's wrong, Gino?"

"Ah, it's-ah nothing. Just-ah my former best friend turned rival Ricky is starting to run me out of business. He lowered his-ah prices down just-ah so he could-ah bring in more customers than me! And now it's-ah getting harder to keep up."

At this, even Rigby stopped chewing on his lunch and looked up at Gino with worry in his eyes. "What does that mean, Gino?" he inquired.

The Italian man sighed before saying, "It means that if I can't-ah get more customers in soon, I'll-ah have to shut down the pizzeria and set up shop somewhere-ah else."

Mordecai and Rigby gasped at this sudden revelation. "What?! No Gino, you can't shut ol' Paparelli's down! It's always been the first place we go to when we have free time for lunch!"

"Yeah, sometimes I come here when I don't even have free time, I just come here to get out of doing homework or chores!" Rigby added.

"This place means so much to us, you can't let it happen!"

Gino only smiled sadly. "Thanks, boys. I'll-ah definitely try to keep her open for as long-ah as I can," he told them. "Y'know what, for your kind words, how about-ah I give you each another slice, eh?"

"Aw yeayuh!" the boys shouted in unison as they took another slice Gino gave them.

After finishing their lunch and going a couple rounds of playing in the arcade, Mordecai and Rigby headed out the door. "Stay out of-ah trouble, you two! Don't-ah want you nearly destroying the universe by disrupting the time-space continuum or anything like that, hehe!" Gino called after them.

"Hehe, yeah," the teens chuckled in reply as they waved goodbye to the restaurant manager.

Mordecai still had a look of worry on his face as he laid Señior Sensei on the ground. Rigby noticed this. "What's eatin' you, dude?" he asked.

"It's just… I'm worried about Paparelli's," Mordecai answered sullenly. "I don't know what I'd do if Gino had to leave. Maybe he wouldn't be hurting his business so much if he didn't give out slices for free like that…"

"Whatever man, it's not like he's actually going to shut down. Gino's just going through a rough patch is all, his pizza's way too good for him to leave," the little Raccoon reassured his friend.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Mordecai sighed as he propelled himself forward on his skateboard while Rigby pedaled beside him. "Race ya to my house!" the Blue Jay called as he thrust himself ahead at breakneck speed.

"Hey, no fair!" Rigby cried out as he tried to pedal harder to catch up to his friend.

 **So there was the first chapter. Like it? Hate it? Is there something I can improve on? I always appreciate feedback of any kind and if you do enjoy this story, feel free to fave it! It'll only inspire me to pump out the next chapter as quickly as I can. Thanks for dropping by!**


	2. Getting Employed

**Hey guys, I'm back already! Hope you you have fun reading this chapter, and thanks to everyone who favorited and reviewed it!**

Eventually the end of the summer arrived and the time came for Mordecai and Rigby to leave home and go to the Community College out of state. With heartfelt goodbyes from Mordecai's family, the two bros headed out for one of them to try and make something of himself.

Too bad that didn't happen. Mordecai had made it three years in and had tried his best, but for some reason, maybe because he wasn't in the place he'd always hoped he'd end up in for college, he just couldn't get into his art anymore. After failing his Art History exam from eating too much pizza the night before and making a girl cry from drawing a portrait of her, poor Mordecai no longer had confidence in himself as an artist, and dropped out.

This meant that he and Rigby no longer had a place to stay. With nowhere else to go, the two best friends decided to head back to their home town. While Mordecai's parents supported him through everything, even his decision to drop out of school, the Blue Jay just couldn't find it in himself to ask his parents if he could live with them again, and Rigby's parents were completely out of the question since they all but kicked him out of the house while singing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" the whole time.

Now homeless and jobless, Mordecai and Rigby needed to find work, and fast. While riding a bus back to their city, the more responsible Blue Jay was looking through a newspaper trying to find available jobs for them. He was hoping that at the very least there would be a position open at some fast food restaurant and he and Rigby could live in the dumpsters behind it until they'd raised enough money to live in an apartment.

"Hmm…" Mordecai mumbled. "We're not qualified enough to be astronauts, but we're way too dignified to be sewer cleaners." He then looked over at Rigby, who was currently sitting upside down in his seat and trying to pick his nose with his tongue. "Well, one of us is…" he corrected himself.

"Uuuuuggggghhhhhh, duuuuuuuuuudddde. I'm sooooooooo booooooooorrrrrrrrred," the short Raccoon groaned as he sank further down his seat until he collapsed onto the floor. "When're we gonna get therrrrrrrrrrre?" he asked as he clambered back up.

"In half an hour, just calm your lady pecs," Mordecai replied, not looking up from the paper in his hands.

"UUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Rigby groaned louder as he sank into his seat more. "This blows worse than you did on your Art History final!"

"And whose fault was that, you hole?"

"Hey, it's not my fault you're too big of a pansy to finish an extra extra large pizza."

"Ugh! Whatever, just shut up until we get to our drop off," the annoyed Avian said as he returned his attention to the job listings.

At this, Rigby became a bit angry, sick of this lame bus ride and his best friend not paying attention to him. In response, the childish Raccoon snatched the newspaper from his friend's wings and ran down the bus with it.

Mordecai was in shock for a split second before he jolted after his hyperactive friend, calling his name in fury as he chased him. Rigby was able to just dodge his taller friend's grasp and tried crawling under some chairs, but Mordecai grabbed him by his tail and pulled the struggling Raccoon out.

But Rigby tackled Mordecai one more time and they started wrestling each other on the floor for the newspaper until they were interrupted by the bus driver. "If you two don't stop roughhousing back there I'm kicking both of you out right here!" she shrieked at them.

"Sorry," they both said as they started to get up and return to their seats. Just before standing up, though, Mordecai happened to glance at the paper in his hand and noticed an open job he hadn't seen yet.

When the Blue Jay returned to his spot, he looked at the ad more closely to see that there were two positions open for groundskeepers at the local park. Mordecai became more entranced in the listing as he read on, seeing that the job came with free housing and even meals! The Avian's eyes widen in realization about how perfect this job was, and quickly shoved Rigby to get his attention. "Dude! We have to apply for this job, it's absolutely perfect for us!"

The immature Raccoon scoffed a second before looking at what his bird friend had placed in front of his face, but his eyes too slowly started to become intrigued as he read the job description. "Dude, you're right!" Rigby agreed. "We have to take this job!"

"Yeah I know!" Mordecai stated.

"And once we get employed we should totally go to Paparelli's to celebrate!"

"Yeayuh!" Mordecai cheered while waving one of his wings in the air. "We have to let the bus driver know to let us off at the Park first."

"I'll take care of that," Rigby said slyly as he scurried up to the front. He peeked his head over the bus driver's seat before repeatedly poking the easily agitated woman's shoulder while whispering, "Hey lady. Hey lady. Hey lady. Hey lady. Hey lady. Hey-"

"WHAT?!" the bus driver finally responded, not being able to take anymore of her annoying passenger's attempts at trying to gain her attention.

"Can you let me and my friend off at the Park when we get into town?"

"Fine, whatever! Just go sit in your seat and don't bother me again!" the lady responded as she returned her furious gaze to the road. Rigby resisted poking at the vein pumping in her neck as he scuttled back to where Mordecai was sitting.

"Taken care of," Rigby said proudly as he settled in.

"Yeah, I heard it all the way back here," Mordecai replied, rolling his eyes at his best friend's inability to handle any task like a real person. "So now when we get there we just have to fill out an application and we should be good to go."

"Ugh! I don't wanna!" Rigby responded in his usual immature manner.

"You want this job, don't you? You're going to have to work if you want to stay there."

"Whatever, I can do work when I actually feel like it, I just don't want to put in effort to fill out an application. You do it for me."

"Ugh! Fine!" Mordecai said begrudgingly as he settled further into his seat to read the Funnies in the paper. But the Blue Jay's annoyed expression eventually morphed into an excited one as he thought about getting what looked like an actual good job, at least until he got back on his feet. Even Rigby constantly squirming in his seat and bumping into him couldn't tarnish his mood. Maybe he really could make something of himself after all.

When the bus made it to the Park, Mordecai and Rigby hopped out with a great sigh of relief from everyone inside the vehicle as it drove off. They walked up to the front gate to be greeted by a Lolliman they learned to be named Pops. The jolly old chap took them on a quick tour around the park, skipping and laughing the whole way.

Mordecai was smiling slightly in amusement at the older man's cheeriness. Even though some new things had been added to it, the Blue Jay was already pretty familiar with the Park since he and Rigby would always use it as a shortcut to get to school on time. But then suddenly a new sight caught his eye. He looked to see an absolutely gorgeous Cardinal woman jogging across the grass with a cheerful smile adorning her beautiful face.

This caused any previous thought Mordecai had to shut down and his ears to drown out everything except his own rapid heartbeat as his eyes were locked onto this goddess of a woman. If he were paying attention he might've noticed that his jaw had slacked, but he was too focused on this girl to care. Suddenly to the Blue Jay's excitement and horror, the Cardinal happened to look his way and wave at him, her smile causing him to melt inside as he was able to muster just enough will to grin back and return a wave to her while she kept running.

He watched as she ran out the gates until she was out of his sight before sighing in adoration. " _I think I'm in love_ ," he mused to himself. That was when he realized he had to see her again, he knew hanging out with her would feel so good. He couldn't believe how hot she was, she made his insides feel like knotted twists. He just thought about her pretty face and long legs, hoping someday they'd be more than just friends-

"Dude! Mordecai! Snap out of it!"

"Huh, wha?" Mordecai came out from his daze as he looked to see Rigby trying to get his attention.

"You were stuck in La La Land while Pops was giving us the applications," the shorter Raccoon explained while he handed Mordecai both of them. "What were you staring at, anyway?"

"Uh, it was nothing," the Blue Jay lied as a blush started to bloom on his facial feathers. "Here, I'll go fill these out for us," he stated, trying to change the topic as Rigby continued to look at him suspiciously.

It took a lot of willpower to stop thinking about that mystery girl long enough to focus on writing out those applications, but Mordecai did get it done, and walked up to Pops who happened to be chasing butterflies in the garden. "Here you are, Pops!" Mordecai said as he handed the Lolliman the forms.

"Oh, jolly good show!" the fellow cheered in his childlike high-pitched voice as he took the slips of paper from Mordecai's wing. "I have a feeling this'll be a start of a cracker jack employment for both of you chaps!"

"Uh, yeah…" the tall bird answered. "So, what now?"

"Now we go to see your new boss, Benson! Oh I'm sure his balls will pop with excitement when he meets the two of you!"

Rigby snickered until his taller and stronger friend punched him in the shoulder. "Ow!" the Raccoon whined as he rubbed the sore spot.

"Right this way, gentlemen," Pops gestured as he led the duo to meet their new employer.

"Man, if Pops is this cheerful then this Benson guy must be even more upbeat," Rigby noted as he walked right behind the skipping old man.

"Yeah," Mordecai responded, barely registering what his friend had just said. His mind was still stuck on the woman he saw, trying as hard as he could to remember her beautiful face and flawless body. He just knew he needed to see her again.

 **Alright, so the guys have officially returned to their hometown and started working at the Park. What lies ahead for them? We'll just have to wait and see until next time. Thanks again for dropping by and don't forget to review and fave if you'd like to!**


End file.
